Nokia expects its Android smartphones to help regain some of its lost market share in the crucial mid-range segment in markets like India.

NEW DELHI: Nokia expects its Android smartphones to help regain some of its lost market share in the crucial mid-range segment in markets like India, managing director for the country P Balaji said, adding that the premium Lumia smartphones and new Asha models which will be priced even lower than the existing ones will complete the company's portfolio.

The Finnish handset maker launched its first Android smartphone - Nokia X - in India on Monday, priced at 8,599 which however won't have Google Play store for apps, Google Search, Google Maps or Gmail services. Mid-range, also called the affordable smartphone category, refers to handset prices between Rs 7,000 and Rs 15,000, the biggest selling range in India.

"Our primary strategy on smartphones is Lumia and the Nokia X will be a feeder platform into the Lumia. We see the opportunity for Nokia X in the affordable smartphone category where most consumers want the apps from Android," Balaji told ET. From being a runaway market leader in India till some years back, Nokia's share has been reduced to low single digits as it missed the smartphone and Android rush. But thanks to its Lumia devices, its market share in smartphones has recovered somewhat and has been stable at nearly 5% through last year, according to IDC. Nokia X allows consumers a choice of Android apps along with signature Microsoft offerings from Nokia. So, Nokia will bundle the Nokia Store for apps, through which consumers will be able to access several third-party app stores like 1Mobile Market and SlideME Market for downloading any app. Nokia has also bundled in its own search tool Bing, Here Maps, OneDrive with 10 GB virtual storage space, Skype and Mix Radio services.

Nokia will launch the X+ and XL variants within the next two months that are likely to be priced higher than Nokia X, but under Rs 12,000. The three X series phones that have an interface similar to Windows, are targeted at first-time smartphone users.

While the X series will be the filler in the range lower to Lumia, Nokia will drive down the prices of Asha which caters to the low-end of the market. The latest Asha 230 will be launched soon at a price point which will be lower than the cheapest Asha device, Balaji added. Currently, the Lumia range starts from around Rs 10,000, while Nokia Asha sells for betweenRs 4,000 and Rs 6,000. With the launch of Nokia X, the company aims to cater to market demands across prices. The major challenge however is the competition for the X series of devices from a plethora of Android smartphones in similar price ranges from local and international companies.

According to analysts at IDC, Samsung is the market leader in the smartphone space, followed closely by home-bred Micromax and Karbonn. Most of the devices in India run on Android.